First Drive

What is it?

The cheapest way into a diesel Peugeot 308. As the name suggests, the 308 HDi 90 gets 90bhp from its 1.6-litre engine, with torque up at a reasonable 161 lb ft from just 1750rpm.

'S' trim is one-up from the base 'Urban' spec. Standard equipment includes six airbags, air conditioning and what's described as a 'sports front bumper' with fog lights.

What’s it like?

Very good. The lower powered diesel doesn’t feel lacking in power thanks to the readily available torque, and although it is noisier than the 308 110 HDi on a motorway run, the engine note is never really intrusive.

In truth the 1.6-litre unit gives away very little the more powerful version in everyday use. Given that it also has a claimed fuel figure of 62.8mpg and emits just 120g/km of CO2, it should also be very easy on the pocket.

This basic trim level doesn’t detract from the 308’s roomy cabin, either. It might look a bit bland without the satnav and infotainment screen, but it still feels like a very competent, grown-up family car.

Should I buy one?

If you want a 308 this is certainly one of the best value trim and engine variations to go for, and you won’t ever feel like you compromised comfort and ability for price.

I drove one a couple of months ago, it was a Hertz rental. It was a mixture of mostly french "départementale" roads with a couple of hundred kilometres of "autoroute" (550 kms in total). It's very nice on the highway, but i found it to be a bit too stiffly sprung / over-damped over relatively bumpy sections. The steering started to get a bit busy above 65 km/h.

Maybe its tyres were over-inflated? In terms of looks, 306 >>> 307 > 308. It looks like it's been in an accident.

[quote Samiur Rahman SHAH]It's very nice on the highway, but i found it to be a bit too stiffly sprung / over-damped over relatively bumpy sections. The steering started to get a bit busy above 65 km/h. [/quote]

I fear that this is Peugeot following the herd.

At one time Peugeot did all its suspension work in house and even manufactured the dampers to its own design. Now they seem to have stripped down the competition's cars and decided what they can get away with copying and still serve up an adequate suspension compromise. Sad but I suppose inevitable if the bosses target the VW Golf as the market leader rather than drawing on their heritage for inspiration.

[quote jerry99]Now they seem to have stripped down the competition's cars and decided what they can get away with copying and still serve up an adequate suspension compromise. Sad but I suppose inevitable if the bosses target the VW Golf as the market leader rather than drawing on their heritage for inspiration[/quote]

If it were badged as a GTi (or RC as it's called in France), I would have understood, but I don't see the point of a 1.6 diesel car being so stiff. The seats are rather hard as well, you need to remove your wallet from your back-pocket or you'll feel your cheek going numb...

I haven't driven a Golf yet, a Touran TDI, yes, although that copes admirably with or without a full load on board.

In this case I think the suspension travel is limited to ensure that the minimalist suspension is kept within tight geometric tolerances and does not induce unexpected handling.

The latest VW Golf has a better rear suspension design but I think Peugeot spent the money they saved here on trying to match the Golf's interior trim finish, hoping the average driver would than overlook the lost ride comfort.

Perhaps if they spent as much on suspension as they did in the old days they would not need to worry about loose trim because the suspension would reduce the rattles?

I drive one of these and find the
ride very good and the seats nice aswell. This is an S model with the
15" wheels. Perhaps you had a sport or the likes?

The interior is class and the engine very smooth and quiet.

[/quote]

I
think that the rims were 15"s on the car I drove as well. It was very
good on the motorway, but over rough roads it felt jittery. Maybe my
reference of ride quality is a bit old-fashioned?

As for the
interior, no doubt, it does the job while not looking offensive, and is
much better looking than the one in a 207. The DV6 engine is very good
as well. Minimal turbo-lag and strong mid-range punch. Not like a Yaris
D4-D that needs quite a bit of stick to get up to boost.